Catherine's Bad Dream
by HylloWrites
Summary: Cathy thought it was all a dream, and that her best friend would be wandering the moors by the time she got home. One shot.


Catherine's Bad Dream

By

Holly Fleming

Catherine sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. The morning light flooded in through the window; it blinded her, but at least it was sunny. Heathcliff should have been working out there in the sun. Although he despised his work, the sun always made him a little bit happier, which made Catherine a little bit happier.

Catherine had a horrible nightmare about Heathcliff that night, actually. She looked through her window as she remembered it: she was explaining to Nelly how marrying Edgar Linton would be beneficial to her, and how marrying Heathcliff would be degrading. Her friend heard this, and stole away into the night before he heard all of the good things she had to say about him. The rest of the dream involved her screaming into the night after him, but to no avail. But it was all a dream, and Heathcliff would most likely be in the moors working away.

Catherine dressed herself and made her way into the kitchen, where Nelly stood making breakfast. Catherine shuddered, feeling the cold of the house. She coughed, and Nelly looked up. "Miss Cathy, you are ill," she began. "You should be in bed; you nearly caught your death last night," she added as she made her way to the young girl and wrapped a shawl around her.

"Nelly, I'm fine!" Catherine grinned at her friend reassuringly. "Oh, I'll have to have breakfast quickly. I'm expected at Thrushcross Grange to meet with Edgar," she wrapped the shawl around her shoulders and shivered slightly. "I'll wander the moors with Heathcliff all night, tonight! He was upset about me not talking to him very much. That will change! Oh Nelly, I had a horrible dream! I was so horrible to him, and he left me!" Catherine cried passionately. She meant it; she vowed that she would split her free time equally with Heathcliff and Edgar.

Nelly looked at the young woman and was confused. Heathcliff had fled from the house the night before, while she and Catherine were talking about him? Had Catherine managed to bring him back with her yells? Did he come back in the very late hours of the night, or the very early hours of the morning? Nelly looked out of the window and searched the moors for the boy; she could not see him. Perhaps he was still recovering from the previous night's tantrum.

After sharing idle chat with Nelly over a quick breakfast, Catherine mounted her horse and made her way down to the Grange. She didn't see Heathcliff working in the moors, and presumed that he had gone wandering elsewhere; it seemed like something he would do.

Thrushcross Grange was a completely different world compared to Wuthering Heights, despite the four mile distance between the two. In Wuthering Heights, the skies were always grey, and the grass always muddy and wet. There was a lot of rain and a very sorrow atmosphere. However, at Thrushcross Grange, she the skies were a beautiful shade of blue, and the only clouds were fluffy and white. The grass was green and dry, and lying down on it was blissful. People hummed as they worked and were friendly to each other. They all seemed like a family, but everyone at Wuthering Heights was family too...just a different kind.

Catherine looked at Edgar and remembered him asking to marry her. Or was that part of the nightmare too? It felt real enough, that was for sure. She laid on the grass while Edgar leaned against the tree. She had invited him to lie down with her, but he didn't want to get his nice clothes dirty. She decided to take the leap and said, "I thought I dreamt that you asked me to marry you. Was that real?"

Edgar nodded nervously. "You'll marry me, won't you? You said you would last night!" He was panicking, and made his way from the tree to Catherine. She got up quickly in a rush to soothe him.

"Oh, of course I will. I said I would, didn't I? Oh, do calm down! Don't be silly!" Catherine cried. She moved one had to his shoulder, and stroked his hair with the other. He appeared to be comforted by this and smiled at her.

When Catherine got back to the Heights, she assured Nelly that she was indeed engaged. She asked to have dinner with Hindley, alone, so she could tell him privately. She hadn't the slightest idea as to how he would react. Catherine told Nelly not to tell Heathcliff about the engagement; she wanted to do that herself. She took her nightmare as a warning about the delicate situation. Nelly was uneasy to learn of her instruction, but before she could get a word in, Catherine was off chasing her brother.

Hindley was happy to learn of the engagement. He was not completely sober, but at least he wasn't hostile. He drank to the young lover's health, and then drank for his own happiness.

Catherine spent the rest of the night in the kitchen with Nelly and Joseph. Because Joseph was present, Catherine didn't speak much. She wasn't in the mood to be called blasphemous tonight; she was too anxious to see Heathcliff.

After a few hours, Catherine turned to Nelly. "Where's Heathcliff?" She sighed. "He should be finished working by now."

Nelly twiddled her thumbs and sat down opposite from the girl. "Miss Cathy," she began nervously, "Heathcliff left the house last night, don't you remember?" Nelly had thought that Catherine was being her capricious and selfish self, but she knew now that she genuinely thought that Heathcliff was still in the moors working. "You were screaming for him in the freezing rain for an hour," she bowed her head sadly. Catherine was silent for a few moments.

Finally, she sighed; "I'm going to bed," and left. She made her way through the freezing house to her room. She ignored Hareton's cries and her brother's drunken singing. She remained oblivious to Josephs demanding that she say a prayer before bed, and Nelly's sweet good night. She didn't say or do anything, apart from walk directly to her room.

In her bedroom, Catherine picked up a small blade and carved "Catherine Heathcliff" onto her wall, and wrote it all over the book on which she had previously written, "Catherine Linton."

She spent the night crying into her pillow, repenting talking badly of her best friend. She realized how much she had lost, and how much she had loved her best friend. She sobbed his name into the pillow over and over again, and finally found sleep. She had a dream about Heathcliff coming home, and hoped that it was reality.


End file.
